Ant invasion

[Gonzo42]

Just stayed at Lake Skinner near Temecula, CA. Woke up in the morning and the whole inside of the Mother Ship was crawling with ants.

DW was totally freaked. She wants a professional exterminator to fumigate the RV. I'm worried about breathing the residual outgassing from the treatment.

Any suggestions?

Ranger tells me they are not allowed by the state to use any poisons as it is a protected wildlife habitat. Some of the ants are the Argentine variety which can have 4 queens.

[DaHose]

Diatomaceous earth (DE) is great for keeping out ants, but the Grant's ant stakes are my preferred solution for the home.

How about tenting and fumigating with sulfurly fluoride, just like a structure. It leaves absolutely no residue and is supposed to work great for pretty much any insect problem.

Jose

[deprived]

We were invaded recently as well. DW noticed some white powder near the slide. It turned out to be styrofoam dust. The ants had gotten in a tiny gap in the roof where some Eternabond tape wasn't completely secure and the P.O. had used silicone to make a patch between the coach and the end-cap. Honestly, silicone is good for almost nothing in my opinion.

I knew we had a small water leak around the A/C gasket (which turned out to be a small tear in the EPDM). I think the ants were attracted to the moisture in the roof.

To deal with the water, I re-sealed the entire roof including a new A/C gasket, fresh Dicor roof coating and fresh lap sealant.

To deal with the ants I pried off some of the wall panel and even drilled a few holes above the dinette slide. I sprayed Raid in the holes and then ant-bombed. Right now there are Terro traps finishing up any stragglers. A handful of poisoned ants staggered out of the roof vent ALLLLLL the way back in the bathroom. I removed the skylight and sprayed in there as well. Stuck a few RAID traps in there for good measure.

Normally I might not bomb such a small space but we are re-painting, re-flooring and re-carpeting the whole space. And, honestly, I'm willing to do whatever must be done to get rid of the ants. Once they establish a colony in the styrofoam, they can wreak all kinds of havoc including ruining the A/C ductwork. If that happens, your A/C is just venting into the roof.

Anwhoozle, I haven't seen any ants for a few days. Fingers crossed, right?

Good luck.

edited to correct poor typing

[navegator]

Some of the parks that do not let you use chemicals will allow you to use comet cleaner or diatomaceous sand, the one used in swimming pool filters or you can ask them to take care of the ants themselfs, then they will use Home Defense for you.

navegator

[phillyg]

We got them a while ago but not as bad as yours sounds. Bought a couple of OTC bug bombs and they were all dead after three hours.

[Johno02]

Borax powder is a good defense at campgrounds, around your tires and cords. and it is non-toxic, so it is safe for the ecology(except for the ants).

[SRockwood]

Ortho Home Defense makes a good barrier, but needs to applied often to be effective.

I use Bayer Soil and Turf 2' away and 2' up the sides of my house, all the way around, to keep them out. The Bayer Soil and Turf is a 2-part insecticide: one part is contact kill and lasts a little while, the other part is a slow kill and spreads to the whole colony.

Too bad, as I appreciate the little bastages, just not when they're ruining a pantry full of food and biting me in my own house.

BTW, Argentine ants are an invasive species and form "super colonies". The United States, Europe and Japan each have one super colony that covers thousands of square miles, and are all believed to be related.

[fla-gypsy]

I will poison the little buggers everytime I get a chance. I also have my professional exterminator at home spray my TT about once a quarter to be sure.

[hotbyte]

Common occurrence here. We were invaded this past weekend. We use Home Defense around electric cord, hoses, tires, etc. DW doesn't want to use it inside so we spray them with Windex which kills them on contact. Many use Borax powder to around everything on outside to form a barrier. If you are one a wooded site, look for limbs touching RV that can also be a path for them.

[Teacher_s_Pet]

We've used Terro for years. Little bait trays that you set out and the ants are gone in a day or two. We set them where we find the ants "running" as a column. They love the stuff, my wife says it looks like an old drive-in with them all around chowing down. After eating they take the bait back to the colony and more come to dine, eventually they disappear along with the colony. Works best with "sweet" ants. You can find it at Walmart, Target, Lowes, Home Depot and most hardware stores.

[Gonzo42]

Thanx, everyone. I use the Ortho Home Defense at our domicile and have had no problems. I have white vinegar in the garage already. I have plans to use my power washer on the undercarriage, then do the Ortho. I will be sure to address the power cord, coaxes, and the dump hoses.

[louiskathy]

White distilled vinegar confuses them... they can't find the scent laid down. Use it to wipe all the cabinets, countertops... and keep using it every so often until you have moved and they are gone.

I leave ant bait and ant traps hear and there in the cabinets year round and replace every 6 months. Hate those buggers!!

[Johno02]

Check your power cord and/or water hose. They like to get inside via those. Next, look around tires. There are several non-poison powders that you can use around tires and such to keep them out. Ant-Terror bait will get rid of the ones that have come inside. Find their path and stop that, the and baits will get the rest that are already inside. You learned something, its a common problem. It may take a few days to get rid of all of them. If they can't get back to their nest, they will die eventually.

[navegator]

Home Defense from Ortho, Home Depot sell it, no odor and lasts for about 3 months, next time spray this on all items that touch ground, tires, levelers, hoses any thing that touches ground!

You can spray inside the RV, even on the food preparation areas, we had dogs and cats our vet approved it, been using it for years.

navegator